What Panama disease TR4 means for Australia's bananas

By Amy Mitchell-Whittington

Discussions around cavendish banana prices and supply in Australia have arisen after a recent study revealed a disastrous cavendish banana disease was likely to hit the world's biggest banana exporter, Latin America.

Below is an explainer that breaks down what the disease is, how Australia is affected and what management plans are in place to control the outbreak.

Rows of banana plants affected by Panama disease tropical race 4.

Photo: Andrew Daly / Australian Banana

What is Panama disease tropical race 4?

Panama disease is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp cubense. It is a soil pathogen that infects the root system of banana plants and establishes control of the plant through the vascular system.

A leaf from a banana plant affected by Panama disease tropical race 4

Photo: Andrew Daly / Australian Banana

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The disease cannot be controlled or cured.

There are several races of panama disease, with tropical race 4 (also known as TR4) of most concern due to its capability of infecting the popular cavendish banana varieties growing in tropical conditions.

More than 16,000 plants in the vicinity of the three infected locations were destroyed.

The Tully farm has quarantined the contaminated areas and is still producing bananas from the remaining sections of the farm.

There are about 600 commercial banana farms in operation in Australia, with the larger farms located in North Queensland.

"The banana farms in North Queensland grow about 90 to 95 per cent of Australia's banana production," Australian Banana Growers' Council Chief Executive Officer Jim Pekin said.

"Other banana production areas are northern New South Wales, Western Australia at Carnarvon and Kununurra, and parts of the Northern Territory."

What will the spread of TR4 to Latin America mean for Australia?

Researchers from a recent study published in PLOS Pathogens have warned Panama disease tropical race 4, which has wreaked havoc in south east Asia for the past half century, will eventually make its way to Latin America, devastating the world's supply of banana exports.

While the spread of Panama disease tropical race 4 is alarming, the impact this latest research will have on Australia is minimal.

"Australian growers produce bananas for our domestic market and we'll be continuing to do that no matter what happens internationally," Australian Banana Growers' Council chief executive officer Jim Pekin said.

"We grow enough bananas in Australia for our consumers so there's no impact on Australian banana supply and prices from international banana production.

Mr Pekin said there were significant biosecurity and research efforts underway internationally to control tropical race 4, and he hoped if it spread to Latin America the impact would be limited.​

While a fall in banana supply from Latin America would result in a prospective gap in the market for banana growers in Australia, Mr Pekin said labour costs and overall output would hinder any large-scale output opportunities.

"While some Australian banana growers have established niche markets overseas, it's unlikely that Australia would ever become a substantial banana exporter," Mr Pekin said.

"The reason is that the cost of production, particularly labour costs, are much higher in Australia than in other banana producing countries and it's unlikely that large-scale exports would become viable for us.

"Australian producers currently grow about 370,000 tonnes of bananas each year which meets the needs of our domestic market but is relatively small in global terms. In comparison, a large banana exporting country in Central America, such as Costa Rica, each year exports about four times the level of our entire annual production."

Biosecurity Queensland said they do not anticipate Panama disease tropical race 4 will have any significant impact on supply or price of Queensland bananas.

Are banana prices expected to increase?

Banana prices in Australia are not expected to increase nor is banana supply likely to be restricted as a result of this recent study.

"There hasn't been any impact on banana prices or supply levels as a result of Panama TR4 being detected on the one farm in the Tully Valley," Australian Banana Growers' Council Chief Executive Officer Jim Pekin said.

"It's been just over nine months since TR4 was detected on that farm and North Queensland's overall banana production levels are continuing as usual."

How is Queensland managing Panama tropical race 4 disease?

Since the discovery of Panama tropical race 4 disease on the Tully farm in March, the Queensland government has invested $3.88 million in response, waived inspection fees, erected fencing around the quarantined Tully property and conducted feral pig control on the farm.

The Australian Banana Grower's Council have been training banana growers to implement strong on-farm biosecurity practices.